Criminal investigation surrounding vote buying during Parliamentary Elections 2014 House search and arrests in case “Octopus”.
PHILIPSBURG – As a result of information obtained by the Public Prosecutor’s Office that Member of Parliament S.M. would have bribed people to vote on him, a fact finding investigation by order of the Attorney-General was launched in October 2014 by the National Detectives.
The results of this investigation warranted a criminal investigation in the month of May 2015. This investigation carries the code name “Octopus”. In this case 3 arrests were made this morning. They are S.M., E.F. and R.K. They are suspected of election fraud and acting as an accomplice. During one search at the home of E.F. drugs were found. In this case the female D.F. was arrested. At the home of R.K. one luxury car and jewelry was confiscated. This in a separate investigation.
In the case of S.M. house searches are still being planned for today. Both at his home and office. Both localities are at this moment “frozen”, pending a warrant for the prosecution of S.M. by the Court. The Court must give on Sint Maarten approval when the suspect is a politician.
This investigation is led by the Public Prosecutor’s Office St. Maarten. The investigation is ongoing. More arrests are not excluded. The police force of Sint Maarten (KPSM) and the RST agencies rendered assistance during the searches and arrest.
No further comment will be given until further notice.
